Football stadiums embracing ecommerce through wi-fi hotspots

Posted on July 8, 2013.

Football clubs across England and Scotland are looking to tap into stadium ecommerce by developing wi-fi networks for fans to use before, during and after a match.

According to warc.com, a number of clubs including Manchester City, Liverpool, Celtic and Rangers are among the first to have built wi-fi systems which could open up a ‘slew of monetisation opportunities’ during games.

For instance, fans bringing gadgets to games such as a laptop could make an online payment for a replica jersey during half-time.

Josh Robinson, director of creative and integrated solutions at Sports Revolution, commented on the move: “If you think about flagship stores, where you have highly promotional environments, which are absolutely soaked in atmosphere, that’s what stadiums are.”

However Robinson did warn that clubs “need to be cognisant of the fact” that some fans are at stadiums “to watch the match and not buy products”, adds marketingweek.co.uk.

Outside of ecommerce, it is thought a number of betting services are likely to be seen as a priority for many clubs as football has significant presence within the gambling industry.

However, clubs will have to think about ownership of data acquired within the stadium with Deloitte’s senior consultant for the Sports Business Group Adam Bull suggesting it is a “contentious issue and one that clubs have to be particularly careful about”.